Jul 18 The Intern

When we first meet Allison Behringer, she has made the decision to walk away from her work in charitable organisations and teaching to pursue a (slightly less noble) career in media. Things are not going well - she's broke, has split with a boyfriend, and is floating between couches - when she lands the job offer of a lifetime: to work as a well-paid intern for tech company Betaworks, the home of Giphy and Digg. Her role is to produce a podcast about, um, working as an intern for Betaworks, and making it in New York City more generally.

Before your eyes roll all the way back into your head at the pure Millennial-ness of this premise, you should know that Allison is a deeply likeable person, flabbergasted by her lucky break, and that her show, produced in a narrative format, makes for excellent listening. Wary of being used as a PR pawn, she asks hard questions of her employer - about, for example, where exactly its money is coming from, and the mechanics behind a series of brutal layoffs - with her boss, co-workers and industry luminaries making appearances. These larger stories about the tech world are entwined with more personal narrative threads, like her attempt to get an Ikea mattress home on the subway, and her agonised efforts at salary negotiation. She is a thoughtful storyteller, prone to relatable neuroses, and the overall effect is a lot like that of StartUp - just from the bottom rung of the ladder. Recommend.